The United Kingdom
Independence Party, in particular Nigel Farage, has spoken of a political
earthquake hitting Westminster. With a gain of 161 councillors and 11 MEP’s, Farage
has hailed a 5% drop in support from 2013 and victory in an EU election with a
turnout of 34% as ‘meteoric’. Whether this alleged earthquake dies down come
2015 is a story for another time, for it is the immediate effect of these
results which is far more disturbing.
The Conservatives have
brought forward their promise of a referendum to 2017, and calls for one in
2016 seem tempting in the face of a 3rd place EU election result.
This is unsurprising; with the General Election 12 months away it is clear that
Cameron intends to marginalise UKIP by moving his party to the right. The
Liberal Democrats, the only loudly pro-EU party contesting the election, were
demolished. This was not because the EU argument is lost, but because Nick
Clegg could offer a lifetime supply of chocolate for everyone in the country
and still find himself on the losing end of any significant vote. Clegg has
maintained his stance, in an act of defiance which could be commended if it
wasn’t him maintaining it. His party, and any argument they put forward, will
be dead in the water as long as he is towing the boat.
As for Labour, Ed
Miliband has already confirmed, via twitter, that the ‘party has changed its
stance on immigration’. This is nothing new, with catchphrases as ‘British jobs
for British workers’, a slogan of the BNP, becoming a common feature of all
three major parties. What is disappointing is that it has taken the Labour
Party less than 48 hours to respond, and have chosen to done so in a way which
indicates that Miliband has no intention of taking his party to the left of
politics. Instead, Miliband has seemingly agreed to play the politics of fear,
pushed by UKIP, that millions of immigrants are due to rush our borders, steal
our jobs and nest behind our fridges (let’s hope Godfrey doesn’t check). The
party which was once known as inclusive may soon become exclusive to those who
bark that immigration is the sole cause of the UK’s problems. It has indirectly
resigned itself to support a man who openly admitted that living next to a
family of Romanians would make him uncomfortable, and that ‘it was quite clear’
why living next to a family of Romanians was such a tragedy
The Labour Party had a
chance to stand up, admit that they recognised the fears of immigration and
then challenge the lies propagated by Farage, James and other significant UKIP
figures. We have seen no such backbone protrude out of Labour or any of the
major parties, including the floundering Liberal Democrats. It is therefore up
to smaller parties, like Respect and The Greens, to act and challenge the
status quo. If we do not, I fear this pedalling may lead to a subtle repeat of
the 1960’s, in which signs in windows made clear that Irish immigrants were not
welcome in the country.
As a descendant of
Irish immigrants from the 50’s, the issue of immigration will always be a close
one to my outlook on life. It has become clear that racism and xenophobia is
being openly whipped up in the UK. The only difference is that now it is simply
rebranded as common sense opposition to immigration.
